Eyes on Arlington: 80th birthday party for Dalworthington Gardens spans two days

Dalworthington Gardens will mark 80 years of existence this weekend. Bill BoehmeCourtesy photo

Dalworthington Gardens will mark 80 years of existence this weekend. Bill BoehmeCourtesy photo

Dalworthington Gardens turns 80 this year, and the city has never looked better. This charming little hamlet may be small in terms of population — around 2,300 or so residents — but the community pride couldn’t be larger.

A two-day celebration begins Friday to commemorate the eight decades since the city was established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s homestead program during the Depression years. The city has thrived through the years and now features many sprawling homes on spacious and beautifully landscaped lots.

An “Oldtimers Celebration Dinner” at 6 p.m. Friday will launch the festivities that run through Saturday evening. Young and old alike will enjoy time to visit at the dinner hosted by Pam Dunbar of The Montessori Academy at 3428 W. Arkansas Lane. A delicious barbecue meal courtesy of Philip Szurek from Farmers Insurance will be served, and reservations are required.

Velma Bogart, who heads the DWG historical committee, said the city was created in 1936 with 80 parcels of land for the purposing of finding “housing for people who had a job in Fort Worth, Dallas or Arlington and who would work the land to produce food for themselves and others. The offer was 5 to 20 acres with a house and garage or shed.”

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Even today, many of the homes still have livestock and gardens. “We are proud of this rurallike place we live,” Bogart said.

Saturday’s festivities begin with the DWG Dash 5K and 1-mile fun run in the city’s park at 8 a.m. followed by free hot dogs, nachos and drinks served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Don’t miss the exciting four-city softball tournament with teams headed by the mayors of Arlington, Pantego, Mansfield and Dalworthington Gardens at 11 a.m.

After the big city tournament, family teams will enjoy softball games on the newly refurbished field until 2:30 p.m. There will be free play in the park with time to enjoy a lively game of croquet or see if the fish are biting in the parkside lake from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Then, experience the fun of activity booths and old-fashioned hay rides from 4 to 7 p.m. before the Arlington Community Band strikes up the music for a concert in the park.

The headliner band at 8 p.m. is the Uptown Drifters, popular with local crowds who love music from all genres. After dark, enjoy popcorn while watching Finding Nemo on the big screen in the park. To make sure no one gets hungry, Kona Ice will be around all day andthe Last Supper BBQ food truck will serve from 3:30 to 7 p.m.

A special dedication of engraved brick pavers is planned for 10:30 a.m. in the DWG Historical Plaza in the park at 2600 Roosevelt Drive. The paver project began five years back at the 75th-anniversary celebration when around 200 pavers were installed. The lovely project has grown with two additional installations with more planned after this fourth installment Saturday.

“The bricks can be purchased for $40 and engraved in memory or in honor of someone or of a special occasion,” Bogart said. “There is room for more pavers, but it will be several months before we have another installation.”

Two outstanding high school seniors from Arlington took home scholarship honors at the May 19 luncheon of the Community Service Foundation for the Arlington Board of Realtors.

“It is our great honor to be able to be a part of assisting the youth of the community,” said Steve Young, who chairs the education committee of the foundation. The committee had the difficult task of selecting two recipients from the 36 applications they received from students attending public and private high schools in the Arlington, Mansfield and Kennedale school districts.

Vanessa Blaylock from Timberview High School was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. She plans to attend Pitzer College to study biology. Also receiving a $1,000 scholarship was Seguin High School senior Thai Hien Pham, who will soon begin her studies at UTA in the nursing college.

“The Community Service Foundation is very proud to invest in and have a positive impact on the lives of these two fine individuals chosen,” Young said.

The foundation was established in 2007 to improve the community through such initiatives as neighborhood revitalization and scholarship awards. According to education director Vicki Williams, $14,000 in scholarships has been awarded over the past seven years.

The inspiring story of Aron Ralston will be the program at the annual Hand in Hand luncheon hosted by Arlington-based charity Helping Restore Ability on June 24 at the Joule Hotel in Dallas.

Many will recall Ralston’s remarkable story of being stranded in a remote canyon after a boulder pinned him against a canyon wall in Utah in 2003. Ralston ultimately severed his own arm below the elbow in to get out of the canyon and walk miles to meet teams trying to rescue him.

Niedermayer said the agency’s sole focus revolves around “a future where no Texan with a disability lacks the resources to live a full and independent life. Aron’s presence at this signature event will draw attention to the challenges our clients face every day.”

Ralston’s bestselling memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, was later adapted for the film 127 Hours. Now a highly-sought-after inspirational speaker, his story will keep the audience spellbound.

“May your boulders be your blessings. May you be able to embrace them. And may you find what’s extraordinary in yourself,” Ralston wrote in a statement about his amazing story.

Tickets to the luncheon are $125 per person, and proceeds will enable HRA to continue serving people with physical, developmental or intellectual disabilities with in-home attendant care. Purchase online at www.helpingrestoreability.org, or call Kimmie Hack at 817-635-6020.

East Arlington kids receive 16,000 books

A shout out to a great local charity — Community Advocating for Prosperity and Opportunity (CAPO) — for making sure that kids living in the 76010 ZIP code have plenty of reading material for the summer ahead.

At a book carnival last month, children choose free books to take home while they were entertained with puppet shows, live entertainment and clowns who treated them to face-painting and balloon animals. The Tech Link bus from the Arlington Public Library was on hand for the kids to enjoy computer exploration and to sign up for a free library card.

CAPO board member Sophia Mucino said the group has spent the past year gathering books using grant funds and from partnerships with Half PriceBooksand FirstBookMarketplace and others.

“We have found that many families do not have luxuries likebooks. For some of these children thebooksCAPOprovides are their firstbooksto own,” said Mucino.

Now in its fifth year, CAPO was formed by residents who decided to use money from natural gas leases to fund the charity and have now provided more than 40,000 free books to children in need.

“This is a good start to sending these children into their summer vacation withbooks they can read over and over again — their ownbooks, the start of their own library,” Mucino said.

Mary Poppins presented by the Grand Prairie Arts Council is June 24-25 at 8 p.m. and June 19, 25 and 26 at 2 p.m. at the Uptown Theater, 120 E. Main St., Grand Prairie, Purchase tickets at www.artsgp.org, or call 972-237-8786.

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Today I am signing off as your Social Eyes reporter. This will be my last column as I leave the Star-Telegram. Please take note of new information about how non-profits and arts, civic and education groups can continue to engage with the newspaper for your fundraising events and community initiatives.